The present invention generally relates to an aerosol type device for sounding a horn to be used on a boat, attached to a bicycle, hand-operated personal use, or the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a device in which a container is filled with compressed air which may be released by a user to sound the horn.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a horn which may be repetitively filled with compressed air by pumping air using a conventional tire pump, built-in pump or the like, into the container.
Horns are known in the prior art connected to a container generally containing chemical gases which act as a propellant. Such horns are generally shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,335 and 4,970,983.
Chemical gases which are used as a propellant in a horn, however, require cooling in order to change the gases to a liquid state. A safety hazard results when sounding the horn since the gases often flow out in a liquid state. As a result, a user may potentially suffer from frost bite when the liquid contacts his body. This may be especially prevalent when the container is not held in a vertical, upright position.
In addition, chemically propelled horns when sounded repetitively over a short time span may stop working as a result of cold gases freezing a membrane of the horn. Narrow air passages may cause pressure of the gases flowing through the entire unit to decrease as well. Therefore, the reliability of the horn for repetitive use over a short time span is hampered.
Another drawback of chemically propelled horns is they may only operate in temperatures above 33.degree. F. Finally, known chemically propelled horns typically use chlorofluoro-carbon (CFC) as a propellant which when dispensed from the horn are destructive to the ozone layer. Other "friendlier" gases to the environment are also known for use in chemically propelled horns but are typically highly flammable and, therefore, extremely dangerous.
In addition, these known horns are not capable of being refilled for reuse. Instead, when the gases are depleted from the container, the container must be thrown away and replaced or often the entire horn assembly may require replacement.